Let Me Start: Not about a bridge?

NOT ABOUT A BRIDGE?: It may be time to officially retire the term “Bridgegate” after new allegations from Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer this past weekend. On MSNBC’s Up w/ Steve Kornacki on Saturday, Zimmer said she was told her town wouldn’t receive Sandy relief money if she didn’t approve a redevelopment plan that Christie supported.

MARIJUANA VS. ALCOHOL: In a new interview with The New Yorker, President Obama said he doesn’t believe smoking marijuana is worse than drinking alcohol. The president explains that he views pot as a “bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life,” but says he doesn’t see it as being “more dangerous than alcohol.”

BIDEN ON VOTING RIGHTS: ”I have to admit I never thought we’d be fighting the fight again on voting rights.” The vice president spoke Monday morning at the National Action Network’s annual King Day Breakfast to assure the public that “we are not going back, period” to a time where access to the ballot box was severely restricted.

AN OLYMPIC CONTROVERSY: Russian President Vladimir Putin is defending his country’s “anti-gay law,” arguing that it does not discriminate against anyone and will have no negative impact on athletes during the upcoming Winter Olympics. “It has nothing to do with persecuting people for their non-traditional orientation,” Putin said. “My personal position is that society must keep children safe.”

GROWING HOPE: In our homes, our schools, and our communities, we can all grow hope. As we honor Martin Luther King Jr. today, msnbc invites you to share with us how you’re “growing hope” in your community. Find out more at growinghope.msnbc.com.

Tune in tonight at 7 p.m. ET when we’ll discuss the tangled web of the Christie controversy.